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According to a recent lawsuit, a former employee at SpaceX has alleged that his supervisors were timing his toilet breaks, issuing a time constraint of 10 minutes for his bathroom visits.
Douglas Altshuler, 58, has the gastrointestinal condition of Crohn’s disease, which requires consistent bathroom visits over a routine eight-hour shift. According to The Independent, Altshuler filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, SpaceX, led by controversial chief executive Elon Musk, claiming he was let go for his excessive bathroom breaks.
Altshuler alleged that his supervisor began tracking his bathroom breaks and repeatedly criticised him for using the bathroom. After providing a formal letter to his supervisor requesting reasonable accommodation to use the bathroom every 35 to 45 minutes, the supervisor informed him that he would never be restricted or reprimanded for his bathroom usage.
Despite this, Altshuler alleged that the behaviour towards his condition quickly soured, with his supervisor once again monitoring his bathroom breaks and threatening him with a “write-up” if he was away from his desk for longer than 10 minutes.
Altshuler took it up with company higher-ups, which he alleges led to “threatening and argumentative” behaviour from his supervisor at his next performance meeting, where he was slapped with an “unsatisfactory” performance judgement.
During these issues, Altshuler was in correspondence with SpaceX’s HR team, notifying them of what he deemed as “bullying”. Altshuler then suffered a “chemical exposure” on the job, taking three weeks off, during which he notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the incident as well as other safety breaches he had experienced during his tenure.
Interestingly, a US senator recently proposed that OSHA be scrapped entirely as part of a DOGE-styled cut. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was, of course, at the time headed up by Elon Musk, whom the senator praised when proposing the removal of the safety regulator to cut down on a “bloated federal government”.
“The federal government has expanded far beyond what our founders intended. President Trump, Elon Musk, and congressional Republicans must be dedicated to shrinking the size of the government and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are utilised as efficiently as possible,” Republican Representative Andy Biggs said.
After his complaint to OSHA, Altshuler returned to work, alleging that he was quickly threatened with being “fired” for excessive use of the toilet. After an 18-month culmination of these issues, Altshuler aired out his grievances with SpaceX’s head of HR – where he allegedly mentioned his submission to OSHA.
According to Altshuler, the HR team discovered no substantial findings pertaining to his concerns, to which he replied via email expressing his displeasure with their statement. After this correspondence, Altshuler was fired just three days later, according to the lawsuit, for “alleged deficient performance”.
Altshuler’s lawsuit claimed that as a result, he suffered “significant economic and non-economic damages”.
Workplace adjustments to Crohn’s disease
In Australia, a large number of workers, regardless of their age, suffer from Crohn’s and other bowel conditions that can make working an uncomfortable and unforgiving environment if the correct flexibility arrangements are not in place.
Leanne Raven, chief executive of Crohn’s and Colitis Australia, called on Australian employers to be educated about this case by implementing supportive workplace measures for employees who live with these conditions.
“Employers have an enormous opportunity, and responsibility, to create more supportive workplaces given 145,000 of the 180,000 Australians living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are working-age adults,” Raven said.
“Conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis often strike young people during critical phases of their education and careers, and symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and urgent bathroom needs are not always visible but can severely impact daily life.”
“Small adjustments, like flexible working hours, remote work options, easy bathroom access, and fostering a culture of trust and open communication, can make an enormous difference.”
Sophie Muir, founder of Maven PR, used her own experience of Crohn’s disease and how her employer reacted to it as a key teaching point when she began running her own business.
“I’ve experienced firsthand a mixed response in terms of employer support for the management of my Crohn’s disease. I’ve had some employers who were very flexible with the treatments I needed to leave the office for, allowing me to attend my bi-monthly Infliximab infusions and work from home as required.
“Whereas other employers insisted I make up for the time spent out of the office – despite me hotspotting my laptop from the hospital and always working overtime. These experiences have affected how I manage my staff at Maven,” Muir said.
“Supporting people with chronic illnesses isn’t just the right thing to do, it leads to better employee retention, improved productivity, and a stronger, more resilient workforce. As the prevalence of IBD rises and its economic burden grows, forward-thinking employers who offer understanding and flexibility will be better placed to attract and retain top talent.”
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
